


Before We Even Met

by Shatterpath



Series: The Alex/Kelly Fluffy Ficlet Spite-a-thon [7]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/F, Families of Choice, Family, Memories
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-26
Updated: 2019-05-26
Packaged: 2020-03-17 19:26:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,288
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18971530
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Shatterpath/pseuds/Shatterpath
Summary: Alex meets the rest of the little Olsen family and discovers an near-unbelievable coincidence.





	Before We Even Met

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SinginPrincess (TheOnlySPL)](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheOnlySPL/gifts).



> This was a fun challenge based on the post: https://therunnersam.tumblr.com/post/171847643650/apparently-this-guy-was-at-his-mother-in-laws  
> [Two photos side by side with similar backgrounds. The caption reads: Married couple in China discover they appeared in same photograph as teenagers. The couple had visited the May Fourth Square in Qingdao at the exact same moment on July 28, 220, 11 years before they met and fell in love.]  
> Comment from the OP: Apparently this guy was at his mother in law’s house and they were all going through photo albums and he sees he photobombed his wife 11 years before they even met. I fucking love this.
> 
> ~~I realized that Mom Olsen must have actually passed away for Kelly to be James' next of kin, but by then I was deep in this.~~ Let's call this just a little bit of an AU and enjoy Alex meeting the fictitious Bess Olsen. :)

Meeting the parents was a new one for Alex, but after months of dating and a long, slow dance to 'I love you', it didn't take more than a genuine ask. For, no matter how nervous she might be to meet Bess Olsen, she was also hugely curious. So, it was off to the cold and snow of Metropolis, luggage crammed with winter clothes and a few carefully chosen Christmas gifts.

"I'm glad you're with me," Kelly murmured sleepily as they waited to take off and snuggled more tightly into Alex's arm. Smiling, Alex kissed her head and smoothed her free hand over the same spot.

"Me too, love."

Wedged in between the Olsen siblings, Alex let her guard slip enough to actually sleep. That shortened down the flight to a bumpy wakeup call just twenty minutes out, but at least the landing was without drama. They moved along with the mob through the airport to the luggage carousels and suddenly James was in a rush and Kelly dropped Alex's hand to follow.

"Mom!"

It took a moment, but James was too tall to lose in a crowd and soon she found the trio in a big hug, delighted to see one another. Alex hung back until Bess spotted her, turning shrewd and curious. Even expecting a mother's scrutiny, she swallowed nerves down and approached with none of Director Danvers strengthening her spine.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs Olsen. I'm Alex Danvers."

Were the situation less personal, the timidity would have made her angry at herself. Beneath the intense gaze of this woman who brought James and Kelly into the world, Alex could hardly berate herself though. Thankfully, she seemed to pass the initial inspection and Bess' handshake was warm and firm.

"Good to meet you too. My children speak highly of you." The seriousness suddenly became a sunny grin that echoed her kid's. "Not to mention your little sister."

Kara would always put a smile on Alex's face and she felt herself relax at the mention of her sister. "She's a charmer for sure."

That brought a sly smile on, Bess cutting a glance from one woman to the other, both of them sweetly embarrassed. "So are you I hear."

James just laughed and herded them all off.

A nickel tour and a late lunch had everyone in good spirits. Alex stuck to Kelly's side and mostly listened to the Olsens catch up, periodically answering a question of ribbing one sibling or the other. Once back at Bess' apartment, it was a relaxed day amidst the Christmas décor, Alex half dozing against her girlfriend until the inevitable embarrassing stories started in.

"Hey now," she teased Kelly and pressed a kiss to her head. "I survived this routine when my mother told you all my dirty laundry."

"Fine," Kelly sighed with mock drama.

Of course, childhood stories meant that the photo albums came out and Alex was delighted that Bess was old school in that she had real books full of real photos. Then again, knowing the photography skills that made James famous, she should have expected it. Dozens and dozens of family photos passed by her eyes, first four of them, a father lost handsome and proud with wife and children, then three with a melancholy air no family who knew such loss could ever shake.

Alex understood that all too well.

Dinner was delightful, warm with good company and good food. Any discomfort Alex might have feared was long gone and she savored a glass of wine and wandered amidst the framed photos on the walls as the family chattered over sorting out sleeping arrangements. Then one picture caught her eye, seemed almost familiar, itched at faded memories. By the looks of it, it was the day Kelly went into uniform, or perhaps after she'd completed basic training and come home to see family before going where the Army would send her. She looked very stately in her Army green, squished between her taller relatives, their smiles wide and worry clinging to the corners of their eyes.

But that wasn't what made her stand there for so long, the clues just at the edge of her consciousness before the impossibility of what she was seeing finally sank in. Not quite believing it, Alex got her phone and called a number she knew long by heart.

"Hey Mom, could you do me a little favor? I need you to look something up."

Eventually Kelly came looking for her partner, finding her curled up like a cat in the best seat in the house. Snow fell hypnotically beyond the windows, a slow dance in the city night.

"Got room for one more?" she asked softly and Alex didn't so much startle as become animated from her stare at the world outside. That warm smile was pure love and encouragement, Alex's lanky body immediately uncurling and tensing to stand from the comfy recliner. "No, stay. There's room for two."

Snuggling most of her weight between Alex's legs and snuggling into her torso, Kelly let out a huge sigh, feeling the sense of home they always made together.

"There's always room for two," Alex murmured and kissed at her hair until Kelly tilted her head back and they could kiss more intimately.

"Really?" James teased as he walked in and Alex remembered at the last second to not flip him off. Still, the moment was broken and kisses returned to snuggling as Bess joined them to watch the couple cuddle, bodies easy with one another and smiles soft. Good. That was all she had ever wanted for her babies, no matter what shape or color love came in.

It took Alex a long moment to remember her unusual news, caught up in that coy smile she knew well. Clearing her throat, she altered her pitch to include everyone in what she said. "So, I was looking over your lovely collection of family photos, and you're not going to believe this, but I almost bumped into you three some seventeen years ago." That earned her surprise and curiosity and Alex pressed on. "I was thirteen and our science club that year slaughtered every other team I Northern California and won a trip to Metropolis to see an expo at the civic center. So, afterward, we were all exhausted and high as kites on all the stuff we had seen, but our chaperones managed to herd us into some semblance of order at that crazy fountain. It made for a decent shot, but I could do without the comically horrific giant blow up doll of Albert Einstein the background."

Alex would bet that James and Bess looked as shocked as Kelly, but she only had eyes for her lady. Pulling up her phone, she keyed it up and handed it off.

"I called my mother and had her email me this."

It was a gaggle of gawky tweens by turns surly and excited to the point of clearly being jittery. The stupid fountain every Metropolisian hated was larger than life behind them, the blowup figure of the comically horrible Albert Einstein looming in the background off to the left. In the far foreground before the Dr Jekel version of the famous scientist was a tall man in a dark suit, a woman in a lush purple dress and a small figure in Army green squished between them.  
Looking over at the family photo on the wall, she realized that the kids were behind the combined mass of herself and her family.

"How…"

"Weird coincidence right? The odds have to be insane"

"So… I _photobombed_ you thirteen years before we even met?"

It was too absurd to not laugh uproariously at.


End file.
